1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to medical liquid container which is used to store and administer parenteral solutions such as dextrose, saline and the like to a patient and, more particularly, to a stopper assembly for the medical liquid container.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Heretofore, many of the medical liquid containers are made of a glass bottle. For plugging the glass bottle, the glass bottle is first cleaned and filled with a liquid, which is followed by the plugging of a rubber stopper which has previously undergone sterilization process. Subsequently, the rubber stopper is sealed by clinching a cap of aluminium. The glass bottle thus hermetically sealed is subsequently subjected to sterilization. Finally, the bottle is capped with a plastic cover and enclosed by a contractable sheet of vinyl chloride. The prior art container suffers a disadvantage in that the rubber stopper is likely to contact with the liquid, whereby bleeds produced on the rubber material may be admixed to the liquid. Further, the plugging process is tedious and troublesome, because many components or members as well as a large number of plugging and sealing steps are required.
There are also known the medical liquid container constitued by a plastic bottle. For plugging the plastic bottle, the plastic bottle is first cleaned and filled with a liquid. Thereafter, a circular stopper also formed of a plastic material is heat-welded to an openings of the plastic bottle and then sterilized. Next, a rubber stopper or plug is fitted in the circular plastic stopper and capped with a cover sheet of a plastic material. Finally, the bottle is hermetically covered by a contractable sheet of vinyl chloride. This medical liquid bottle made of plastic material is very disadvantageous in that the rubber plug which is to be penetrated by a needle for delivering the liquid to a patient and thus requires cleanliness does not undergo the sterilizing treatment. Accordingly upon using the bottle, the region of the stopper or plug at which the needle is inserted must beforehand be cleaned with gauze impregnated with alcohol or the like. Further, a relatively large number of the sealing and plugging members as well as troublesome steps are required, to another disadvantage.
Further, in the case of the medical liquid bottle formed of glass, foreign liquid pollutants may undesirably enter the bottle by way of the aluminium cap and the rubber stopper due to difference in pressure between the exterior and the interior of the bottle produced when the glass bottle is exposed to a high temperature for sterilization.
In the case of the plastic bottle, the plastic stopper member and the rubber plug are simply fitted to each other. Accordingly, upon sterilization at a high temperature, foreign liquid may enter the plastic bottle through the contacted boundary of the plastic stopper and the rubber plug or foreign liquids may stay therebetween to corrode the rubber plug. Further, since the individual members are formed separately and assembled individually, the manufacturing is not suited for mass production.